Week of January 20-26, 2025

US House- 119th Congress

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About the 119th US House

The 119th United States Congress is the current term of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It convened on January 3, 2025, during the final 17 days of Joe Biden‘s presidency, and will end in 2027. It will meet during the first two years of Donald Trump‘s second presidency.

Following the 2024 elections, the Republican Party retained its slim majority in the House, won the majority in the Senate, and upon Trump’s second inauguration on January 20, 2025, will have an overall federal government trifecta for the first time since the 115th Congress in 2017, which was in session during Trump’s first term.

The 119th Congress features the slimmest majority in the House for any party since the 72nd Congress in 1931, and the first openly transgender member of Congress in history (Representative Sarah McBride of Delaware)/

All the Republican House members can be found in this slider organized alphabetically by state name. Republican leaders can be found here. leaders can be found here.

All the Democratic House members can be found in this slider organized alphabetically by state name and Democratic leaders can be found here.

OnAir Post: US House- 119th Congress

Note: To find previous news posts, select the site nav icon at the upper left … then select the News down arrow and the year, month or Featured News you are interested in.

Donald Trump’s 2025 Inauguration
PBS NewsHour, January 20, 2025 – 8:00 am to 10:00 pm (ET)

President Donald Trump’s new administration is taking shape after less than a week in power. Following Monday’s historic inauguration, Trump’s White House flew into action, signing a slew of executive orders designed to reshape the nation and deliver on his campaign promises.

Meanwhile, Trump’s cabinet nominees are in the spotlight as they navigate congressional hearings and the court of public opinion.

In less than 24 hours, President Trump unleashed a wave of executive actions, some that take effect immediately, some that will be challenged in court and some whose potential impacts are more vague. He promises more executive actions as his Cabinet takes shape and as he moves to purge the federal government of those disloyal to him. Geoff Bennett repor

Polls & Headlines 1.23.2025

Today’s Smerconish Poll

Is it ethical for the wealthy to hire private firefighters during public emergencies?
Yes
No

Yesterday’s Poll Results

Should presidents have pardon power?
52.91% – No
47.09% – Yes
*Percentage of 31,628 votes

Associated Press

Senate advances Pete Hegseth as Trump’s defense secretary, despite allegations against him

Live updates of Trump’s fourth day in office
President Donald Trump is remaking the traditional boundaries of Washington, asserting unprecedented executive power and daring anyone to stop him.

The Conversation 1.23.25

Lead Story

n a few short years, Ozempic, Mounjaro and their kin rose from relative obscurity to superstardom as they became the new hotshot drugs for weight management. Since that time, millions have flocked to the injections to lose weight.

Now, a flurry of studies, including a large-scale paper out in Nature Medicine this week, have found that the so-called GLP-1 drugs hold promise for treating a wide range of health conditions as well, including dementia, addiction and cardiovascular disorders. But the Nature Medicine study also points to previously unknown risks, writes Ziyad Al-Aly, a clinical epidemiologist from Washington University in St. Louis and the lead author on the paper.

Al-Aly cautions that despite the great promise of GLP-1 drugs and their effectiveness for weight loss, they are not cure-alls for obesity and metabolic disease. “The drugs need to be taken long term to sustain their effectiveness and prevent rebound weight gain,” he notes.

Amanda Mascarelli
Senior Health and Medicine Editor

Politics + Society

Science + Technology

Environment + Energy

Health + Medicine

Ozempic and similar weight loss drugs may lower risk of 42 health conditions, but also pose risks

Ziyad Al-Aly, Washington University in St. Louis

Research shows that people who take these weight-loss medications may have a lower risk of dementia and numerous other health conditions.

Trending on site

Senate holds votes on Trump cabinet nominations
PBS NewsHour, January 23, 2025 – 10:00 am to 9:00 pm (ET)
OpenAI is Big Winner of Project Stargate
AI Supremacy, Michael Spencer January 23, 2025

The Stargate Project announcement was quite a show and let’s think about this for a moment. The brave new world of AI Infrastructure expansionism is upon us paving the way for ever bigger and more capable large language models (LLMs).

  • But once you get the ball rolling of the Machine Economy, it cannot be stopped.
  • Let’s be clear – Stargate (its own company) is the most impressive AI infrastructure project we’ve seen in the United States, ever.
  • Although there is some doubt whether the $500 Billion number is accurate, or even realistic. Sam Altman has a history of over-promising and under delivering already, not unlike Elon Musk. If the funding is mostly raised via third party debt, what does that even mean?
The Magnet and the Merry-Go-Round
DemocracySOS, Greg DennisJanuary 23, 2025

Why Ranked Choice Voting is superior to Condorcet Voting as a tool for political depolarization

Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) is one of the fastest-growing voting reforms in the United States. Twenty-three years ago, the only US jurisdiction using RCV was Cambridge, Massachusetts, home to fewer than 60,000 registered voters. Today, RCV is used for public elections in 50 American jurisdictions, including 2 states, 3 counties, and 45 cities, reaching nearly 14 million voters. While new statewide adoptions fell short this past November, Ranked Choice Voting made net gains with wins in Washington, DC and Oak Park, IL, and the state of Alaska and the city of Bloomfield, MN voted to continue using RCV for their elections, too. Despite the speed bumps, for more than two decades we’ve seen a long, steady march toward greater RCV adoption nationwide.

As Ranked Choice Voting has grown in popularity, its benefits have become progressively more apparent. Numerous studies have found the adoptions of Ranked Choice Voting to have boosted turnout, promoted campaign civility, and diversified representation. Moreover, the foremost criticism of RCV – that it is too “complicated” for voters – is being steadily dispelled by the mounting real life experience of voters actually using it. As survey after survey demonstrates, once voters cast a RCV ballot, they tend to like it, understand it, and want to keep it.

At WSJ Journal House Davos, OpenAI Chief Product Officer Kevin Weil outlines ChatGPT’s 2025 roadmap—including a new model and AI agent features that can take actions on your behalf—while predicting the future of computing power, intelligence and regulation. Weil also discusses why OpenAI, SoftBank and Oracle are planning a massive investment in A.I. infrastructure in the U.S.

Introducing: The Entrenchment Agenda
If you can keep it, Amanda CarpenterJanuary 23, 2025

How Trump plans to dig in, cement power, and crush competition

Preserving electoral competition is about more than elections
While many complex challenges lie ahead, preventing entrenchment and preserving electoral competition and the ability to challenge autocrats in fair and free elections in the future should be a top priority.

Preserving electoral competition means more than going through the motions of holding elections. After all, authoritarian states regularly conduct ceremonial elections to maintain the appearance that their citizens live in a democracy. The giveaway is that incumbents almost never lose — which isn’t happenstance. Their elections are inconsequential because citizens are unable to muster any serious opposition.

Open-Source AI and the Future
Hyperdimensional, Dean W. BallJanuary 23, 2025

Modest visions of an open-source AI future

r1 should be seen as a reaffirmation of something that has long been obvious: open-source frontier AI is going to be relevant for at least the foreseeable future if not much longer, and it is going to be an important vector in the broader technological and economic competition between the US and China. Open source is, therefore, an important part of American competitiveness and national security. Some people will probably still try to deny this reality, but r1 makes their job even harder.

I prefer to think of the DeepSeek release as an invitation rather than a threat. America needs to think bigger and more boldly about the things our AI systems—closed and open alike—might make possible at home and around the world.

No longer should we pretend that open-source is something that can be willed away through regulation or top-down control. Nor should we indulge the simplistic idea that open source involves “giving away our technology to China.” And no longer should be pretend that a fierce competition with China is something we can “avoid” due to fears of “AI arms race dynamics.”

Russell Vought testifies at Senate confirmation hearing for OMB director | Day 2
PBS NewsHour, January 22, 2025 – 10:00 am to 4:00 pm (ET)
Brooke Rollins testifies at Senate confirmation hearing for agriculture secretary
PBS NewsHour, January 23, 2025 – 10:00 am to 4:00 pm (ET)
ChatGPT’ Robotics Moment in 2025
AI Supremacy, Michael Spencer and Grace ShaoJanuary 22, 2025

World Models, Humanoids, Synthetic Data and Improved fine motor hand and agility marks a new beginning.  New Robot Arms race begins in 2025. With Deep Dive on Unitree.

The so-called ‘ChatGPT’ moment in robotics is nearly here roughly occuring in the 2025-2030 period. New training capabilities due to world models with innovations like Nvidia’s Cosmos and the collaboration like Genesis open up faster training capabilities using synthetic data that translates well for training robots and physical AI software that translates well to the real world.

This ChatGPT moment for robotics is enabled by a few trends:

  • Improvements in the fine-motor control of the hands (arms) of general purpose Humanoid robotics
  • Improvements in the agility of robots (e.g. Unitree, Boston Dynamics)
  • Better world models for synthetic data training environments
  • More funding for robotics, AI drones and national defense use cases
  • Emergence of fast-learning robots due to physical AI advances

 

Mr. President, Don’t Abandon the Rule of Law to Save TikTok
The Free Press, Joe LonsdaleJanuary 21, 2025

Trump has proposed making TikTok a joint venture—with 50 percent U.S. government ownership. So, Mr. President: Strike a deal if you can. Use every bit of leverage you have. We’ll be rooting for that. But remember why TikTok refused to consider a sale after you issued two executive orders telling them that they had to, or when Congress said much the same.

ByteDance will never sell TikTok, because TikTok is not a social media app with normal corporate incentives; it’s a weapon. America is the target of that weapon.

And in the meantime, the law must take effect. Because in our republic, it is the Congress that writes the law. If President Trump disagrees, he can try to change Congress’s mind.

The Golden Rule
Dana Blankenhorn: Facing the FutureJanuary 21, 2025

American democracy operates by the Golden Rule.

He who has the money makes the rules.

The essence of the story is right. Each generation is dominated by an industry, which takes and then seizes power until another industry rises to take its place. Jefferson took power in the name of the “yeoman farmer,” Lincoln on behalf of northern industry. Franklin Roosevelt made us the arsenal of democracy. Barack Obama stood for technology.

Is the human species truly intelligent?
The Antidote, Dr Dan GoyalJanuary 21, 2025

Is intelligence (or sentiency) a birthright? In terms of intelligence, the answer is a resounding no. In the absence of nurture, there is no meaningful intelligence. Our big brains are useless if we don’t have the culture in which we learn and develop.

From the scientific standpoint, the lack of intelligence would make achieving sentiency a near impossibility. However, as I said, the science of sentiency is in its infancy and fails to take into account spiritual and metaphysical aspects, as well as the scientific discoveries that await us. So perhaps just as it is possible to be intelligent and lack sentiency, it is also possible to lack intelligence and be sentient.

In asking the question ‘Is the human species intelligent’, the limitation seems to be empathy.

Your memecoin is your slush fund
Noahpinion, Noah SmithJanuary 21, 2025

Crypto is, in fact, about sending people money.

A lot of crypto folks weren’t too happy about TRUMP and MELANIA, believing that a stunt like this could undermine the respectability of crypto in general. Their interest in the matter is very simple to understand. Most crypto people — like me — hold Bitcoin, and probably Ether too. If crypto gains respectability and wide adoption by financial institutions, pension funds, etc., demand for Bitcoin and Ether will increase by a lot. This will cause BTC and ETH to go up enormously in price, enriching pretty much everyone in the entire crypto ecosystem.

On the other hand, the launch of new “memecoins” doesn’t enrich the average crypto holder. Yes, you can buy these coins and hope to make a profit. One bold and lucky investor turned $1 million into $120 million investing in TRUMP (though that number could go down if he holds onto it and it crashes). But in general, new memecoins like TRUMP and MELANIA don’t enrich crypto people nearly as much as increased adoption for the existing coins that they already own.

Elise Stefanik testifies at Senate confirmation hearing for ambassador to the UN
PBS NewsHour, January 21, 2025 – 10:00 am to 5:00 pm (ET)
Breaking Digital Barriers: The Promise and Challenges of Agentic AI
Digital Spirts, Matthew MittelsteadtJanuary 22, 2025

At January’s Consumer Electronics Show, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang boldly proclaimed, “the Age of AI agentics is here.” Just days before, OpenAI’s Sam Altman echoed the chipmaker, blogging “We [OpenAI] believe that, in 2025, we may see the first AI agents “join the workforce” and materially change the output of companies.” AI agents are back in vogue.

For the non-technical, “agents” or “agentic AI” refers to AI equipped with not only intelligence, but the ability to autonomously solve complex, multi-step problems. In short, very smart bots.

Are We in an Age of Declining ‘Human Intelligence’?
The Antidote, Dr Dan GoyalJanuary 22, 2025

If we examine social intelligence, there is little doubt that it was one of the most critical factors that led to the dominance of humans over other species. The reason we are no longer fending off predators on the planes of sub-Saharan Africa is that we learned how to work together and prosper together. While the cognitive ability to use tools and build dwellings was useful, it was the ability to maintain peaceful cooperation in relatively large groups of humans that led to success.

My realisation over the days researching this topic and then writing yesterday’s article is that we are perhaps in a time where the need for such human intelligence is not so apparent, and the need for there to be cooperative interactions (particularly in Western cultures) has diminished. If so, then what are the consequences of there being little requirement to develop the other, non-classical forms of intelligence?

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., asked Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., what she thought about gestures that Elon Musk made at an indoor celebration for President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday. Murphy called them “two ‘Heil Hitler’ salutes.”

“No, Elon Musk did not do those salutes,” Stefanik said at her confirmation hearing for ambassador to the U.N. “I was not at the rally, but I can tell you I’ve been at many rallies with Elon Musk, who loves to cheer when President Trump says we need to send, you know, our U.S. space program to Mars. Elon Musk is a visionary.” Stefanik appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee the morning after Trump was sworn in as the 47th president.

Murphy then quoted reactions from social media, including from a “right-wing political commentator” who described the moment in similar terms to Murphy.

“What concerns me is … these are the questions you believe are most important to ask to the UN ambassador. I have a very strong record when it comes to combating antisemitism,” Stefanik said. Stefanik, a loyal Trump ally, is chair of the House Republican Conference, and was the youngest woman ever elected to Congress when she won her seat in 2014. While she has little foreign policy experience, Stefanik has been vocal about Israel and its war with Hamas. She has called for a “complete reassessment” of the U.S.’s funding for the U.N.

Why Trump’s AI plan just caused a billionaire slapfight
Digital Future Daily, Derek RobertsonJanuary 22, 2025

At the White House Tuesday, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son confidently predicted that “artificial superintelligence” will kick off America’s “golden age.” President Donald Trump beamed as Son, OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Oracle’s Larry Ellison announced a $500 billion investment in an American scheme to unlock the potential of super-powerful AI.

The goodwill didn’t last 24 hours.

Elon Musk, the close Trump adviser who has his own AI company and was notably not at the press conference, mocked the effort relentlessly online. “They don’t actually have the money,” he posted on X.

As part of his blitz of executive orders, President Trump delivered on a promise to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization. The Trump White House accuses the WHO of mishandling the COVID-19 pandemic and bias toward China. Amna Nawaz discussed potential implications with Lawrence Gostin of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University.

Doug Collins testifies at Senate confirmation hearing for VA secretary
PBS NewsHour, January 21, 2025 – 10:00 am to 5:00 pm (ET)
Trump holds 1st news conference, announcing major AI investment
PBS NewsHour, January 21, 2025 – 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm (ET)
PBS News Hour live episode, Jan. 20, 2025
PBS NewsHourJanuary 20, 2025 (57:00)

TODAY’S SEGMENTS: 

Trump returns to office and kickstarts ambitious agenda    • Trump returns to office and kickstart…  

The power of presidential executive orders and their limits    • The power of presidential executive o…  

Biden issues preemptive pardons on his way out of office    • Biden issues preemptive pardons on hi…  

Tamara Keith and Amy Walter on how Trump changed Washington    • Tamara Keith and Amy Walter on how Tr…  

Stoltenberg on how the world is responding to Trump’s return    • Former NATO chief Stoltenberg on how …  

News Wrap: 3 Israeli hostages released as ceasefire holds    • News Wrap: 3 Israeli hostages release…  

‘New Prize for These Eyes’ details 2nd civil rights movement    • Juan Williams details 2nd civil right…  

Polls & Headlines 1.20.2025
The Conversation 1.20.25

Lead Story

On the first U.S. Inauguration Day in 1789, President-elect George Washington took the oath of office. That was all the Constitution required him to do that day. But he did something more:

He gave a speech,” writes Claire Jerry, a political history curator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. “Every president since has followed his example and delivered an inaugural address as part of the national celebration.”

There have been 59 inaugural addresses, including the one that Washington gave that day, Jerry tells us. “And while they may have differed in style and even specific subjects,” they all contain certain characteristics, ranging from calls to unify the country to reaffirming national values.

Jerry’s story is accompanied by photos of inauguration-related items from the museum’s collection. There’s a commemorative ceramic pitcher emblazoned with a quote: “We are all Republicans … all Federalists,” from Thomas Jefferson’s first inaugural address in 1801; a button commemorating the 2009 inauguration of Barack Obama features images of Obama and Abraham Lincoln; and the official program from Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1933 inauguration bears the image of a sailing ship navigating rough, blue seas.

Each of these images captures themes conveyed in inaugural speeches. Will Donald Trump’s inaugural speech in Washington today hit the same notes as Thomas Jefferson, William McKinley and Barack Obama? At roughly noon today, we should find out.

Politics + Society

A brief history of presidential inaugural speeches, from George Washington to today

Claire Jerry, Smithsonian Institution

Inaugural addresses that newly minted presidents have given over the past 250 years have aimed to do several key things, including unify the country and establish the speaker’s qualifications for the job.

Science + Technology

Environment + Energy

Trending on site

Behind the Curtain: Startup America
Axios, Jim VandeHei , Mike AllenJanuary 20, 2025

A theory that binds Trump with leading innovators, especially Elon Musk, is that you can bring tech and business talent and techniques together to take a wrecking ball to broken ideas and/or processes or entire agencies.

  • This isn’t Trump’s instinctual motivation, aides say. He wants a strong stock market, slower inflation, low joblessness, the holy trinity of economic indicators.

But Musk, Marc Andreessen and a growing chorus of entrepreneurs and tech CEOs are fusing their “founder mode” mentality with Trump’s desire for fast growth.

  • You have Silicon Valley’s best and brightest battling for bigger roles in reshaping government. Almost every CEO wants a slice of the action.
Capitalism: the disease and the cure
The Antidote, Dr Dan GoyalJanuary 20, 2025

On a day like today, it’s worth reminding ourselves that it’s our money they are after

Capitalism differs from trade due primarily to its focus on profit. It brings in the concept of the mere presence of ‘capital’ leading to greater wealth – money making money. In some ways, while we have 3.6 billion people living in relative poverty globally, a system whereby those who already have wealth achieving greater wealth simply because they have wealth to begin with doesn’t make a lot of sense.

One would think that human civilisation would seek a system whereby it helps as many people as possible to achieve relative wealth. Alas, such a system has not made its way into the economic system, as of yet. Until it does, it is worth considering how to use our current capitalist system to affect change.

Even if such global consumer consciousness was not achieved, there is benefit at the local, community level of spending your money wisely. We know that money spent in the community and profit is generated by those who live in the community that the whole community prospers. The money stays in the community, as opposed to being sucked up by massive conglomerates and ends up in the international bank accounts of a few folks.

The Birth of Aspirational Populism
Yascha Mounk SubstackJanuary 20, 2025

How political scientists misunderstood Trump and missed his appeal.

Trump did this by doing what academics are supposed to be expert in: recognizing that the popular understanding of some concept—in this case, populism—is actually constituted by two elements which are logically separable. In his more recent incarnation, Trump has held on to his disdain for longstanding norms and his populist belief in the unfettered prerogative of the majority. But he has also made more explicit than in the past that his political vision is open to supporters from every ethnic and religious group—and has been very shrewd in courting them with an aspirational vision of America.

Though the term is much-overused and often misapplied, the concept of populism remains the most accurate frame for understanding his actions: He believes that, as the rightful voice of the people, he should not suffer any artificial restrictions on his actions—whether by unwritten norms or by explicit limits on the powers of a president.

For the most part, the executive orders Trump announced in his Second Inaugural are tailor-made to support this vision. His promise to restore order to American cities will resonate among the poorer and more diverse segments of his electorate who are the prime victims of urban crime. His promise to restore free speech is broadly popular among voters without fancy degrees who feel that elites are using their arbitrary moral codes and linguistic conventions as cudgels to wield against them at will. Even his promise to “drill, baby, drill” is broadly popular among voters who are more focused on realizing their American Dream in the next few years than on containing the threat to the climate over the coming decades

Trump’s digital populism takes the stage
Digital Future Daily, Derek RobertsonJanuary 20, 2025

The TikTok drama represents the crash of two powerful strains in American public life, a conflict that Trump has a flair for capitalizing on and even encouraging.

One is the full weight of America’s legal and democratic institutions — the Congress that overwhelmingly passed the law; the president who signed it; the Supreme Court that upheld it.

On the other side are Trump and TikTok: an app with 170 million upset American users, verging on an unruly mob, and a president with a drive to deliver populist “wins.”

For now its seems the digital crowd has the upper hand, in the latest, and maybe most potent, example of the new form of digital populism Trump has embraced.

No Davos Polar Bears
The Sustainable Media Substack, Steve RosenbaumJanuary 20, 2025

Every conversation seems to circle back to how AI is transforming everything, from the newsroom to the classroom. Add in the persistent challenges of social media and a growing mental health crisis, and you’ve got the makings of what promises to be one of the most consequential Davos gatherings in years.

Among the most anticipated venues this year is Future House, a powerful collaboration between Human Change and Project Liberty. While Human Change focuses on reshaping the narrative around children’s mental health and digital well-being, Project Liberty, launched by Frank McCourt, is working to give people back control of their digital lives. Together, they’re convening experts and advocates to tackle some of our most pressing technological challenges. Their first session dives into how technology is fundamentally reshaping our sense of community.

America is Now Under a Tyranny!
Special Intelligence, Malcolm NanceJanuary 20, 2025 (18:40:00)

https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=1227278&post_id=155292579&utm_source=post-email-title&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=458ud&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjo2OTYzMjA1LCJwb3N0X2lkIjoxNTUyOTI1NzksImlhdCI6MTczNzQxNTg0OCwiZXhwIjoxNzQwMDA3ODQ4LCJpc3MiOiJwdWItMTIyNzI3OCIsInN1YiI6InBvc3QtcmVhY3Rpb24ifQ.ZoIohbjKx-ZYl11P88MtLvpiHbcC3fvwd1W6CtXVLX8

A Philadelphian’s Passionate Plea to Embrace One Word … DEFIANCE!

The tyranny of the Trump dictatorship descended upon America today. Worse is that it made me violate my pledge to IGNORE Trump and his spectacle … However, soon after I made this video Elon Musk spoke at a Trump rally and made the NAZI SALUTE … TWICE! He also praised how MAGA has saved the white race using the near exact words of Adolph Hitler.

It will only get worse. They have pledged to upend all democratic norms America may never be the same.

Watch this video and embrace the word DEFIANCE in your daily opposition to the fascist government that some people did not care to oppose.

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House Republicans – 119th Congress

When the conference holds the majority of seats, it is usually led by the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives who is assisted on the floor by the House majority leader and the party’s chief whip. When in the minority, it is led by the House minority leader, assisted by the chief whip. The conference has a chair who directs day-to-day operations and who is assisted by an elected vice chair and a secretary.

All the Republican House members can be found in this slider organized alphabetically by state name. Republican leaders can be found here. leaders can be found here.

OnAir Post: House Republicans – 119th Congress

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House Democrats- 119th Congress

In its roles as a party conference, the caucus writes and enforces rules of conduct and discipline for its members, approves committee assignments, and serves as the primary forum for development of party policy and legislative priorities. It hosts weekly meetings for these purposes and to communicate the party’s message to members.

All the Democratic House members can be found in this slider organized alphabetically by state name and Democratic leaders can be found here.

OnAir Post: House Democrats- 119th Congress

Into the storm
The Warning with Steve SchmidtJanuary 20, 2025

The Democratic Party needs to become the reform and renewal party. It must stand on the side of ordinary Americans who are going to be abused by powerful interests like never before.

It must stand for economic growth and prosperity.

It must stand for national strength and the American flag.

It must have zero tolerance for the next Senator Menendez in its midst.

PBS News Hour full episode, Jan. 21, 2025
PBS NewsHourJanuary 21, 2025 (56:00)

TODAY’S SEGMENTS: 

Trump issues wave of executive orders in policy overhaul    • Trump unleashes wave of executive ord…  

Trump administration setting stage for mass deportations    • How the Trump administration is setti…  

Riggleman weighs in on Trump’s pardon of Jan. 6 rioters    • Former Rep. Riggleman weighs in on im…  

GOP senator surprised by ‘blanket pardon’ of Jan. 6 rioters    • GOP senator surprised by Trump’s ‘bla…  

News

: American Ryan Corbett released from Afghanistan    • News Wrap: American Ryan Corbett rele…  

Why Trump withdrew U.S. from World Health Organization    • The potential impacts of Trump’s deci…  

The immigration policies that led to today’s complex system    • A look at the history of U.S. immigra…  

‘Just a Dream’ offers glimpse of tragedy and triumph of life    • ‘Just a Dream’ offers glimpse of trag…  

Remembering the victims of the deadly Los Angeles wildfires    • Remembering the victims of the deadly…  

The Conversation 1.22.25

Lead Story

President Donald Trump issued a flurry of executive orders in his first hours back in the Oval Office aimed at undoing U.S. climate policies and boosting the fossil fuel industry.

After four years of Biden administration policies that sought to slow the pace of climate change, Trump’s actions sent the pendulum of U.S. climate actions swinging sharply back in the opposite direction once again, writes Joe Árvai, director of the Wrigley Institute for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Southern California.

It wasn’t always like this. Árvai explains how America got to this point, and how money, lies and even the creation of red vs. blue states have influenced politics and played on human psychology to make climate change a partisan issue.

Politics + Society

Science + Technology

Environment + Energy

How the oil industry and growing political divides turned climate change into a partisan issue

Joe Árvai, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

The climate policy pendulum is swinging back again with Trump in office. Money, lobbying and talking about red vs. blue states all play a role in the political and public divide.

Economy + Business

Trending on site

The Conversation 1.21.25

Lead Story

Trump announced a long list of planned executive orders and other measures that will restrict entry into the U.S. for asylum-seekers, refugees and migrants trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border. Many of these moves − such as invoking the Alien Enemies Act, a law from the 1700s that is used during wartime to remove noncitizen enemies − were expected.

And some of the changes took immediate effect. Migrants who had already arrived at the U.S. border and had scheduled appointments to begin their asylum application process found yesterday that their appointments were canceled.

But many of Trump’s proposed changes run contrary to U.S. federal law and will likely be met with many legal challenges, according to Jean Lantz Reisz, an immigration scholar at the University of Southern California.

“People have the right to seek asylum under U.S. law, and by shutting the border down, the president is preventing people from exercising that right,” she told me. In our interview, Reisz explains Trump’s new executive orders, as well as the legal obstacles he may face in implementing them.

Politics + Society

Trump promises to end birthright citizenship and shut down the border – a legal scholar explains the challenges these actions could face

Jean Lantz Reisz, University of Southern California

While the president has a broad range of immigration and national security powers, he cannot change US law on his own.

Science + Technology

Environment + Energy

Agriculture secretary oversees food production, rural life, and nutrition programs that help millions afford healthy diets

Kathleen Merrigan, Arizona State University

The USDA oversees food production and much more. However, it has little direct power to reduce food prices – a centerpiece of President Trump’s cam

Health + Medicine

Economy + Business

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Polls & Headlines 1.22.25
Polls & Headlines 1.21.2025

Today’s Smerconish Poll

Was President Biden justified in pardoning five family members?
Yes
No

Yesterday’s Poll Results

Will Donald Trump’s inaugural address be more conciliatory or combative?
82.25% – Combative
17.75% – Conciliatory
*Percentage of 30,192 votes

Associated Press

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